>> this is "bbc world news." funding for this presentation is made possible by the freeman foundation of new york, stowe, vermont, and honolulu. newman's own foundation. and union bank. >> at union bank, our relationship managers work hard to know your business, offering specialized solutions and capital to help you meet your growth objectives.

we offer expertise and tailored solutions for small businesses and major corporations. what can we do for you? >> and now, "bbc world news." >> hello. you are watching "gmt." i'm zeinab badawi. top story -- french and malian soldiers patrolling the streets of timbuktu looking to flush out any remaining rebels. cheering crowds greet the troops. our correspondent there talk about what they endured under 10 months of islamist will. egypt still in the grip of violent protest. the head of the egyptian army warned the political crisis could lead to the collapse of the state. and we look at the reasons why the dutch queen beatrix is

abdicating at the end of april in favor of her eldest son. also in this program, aaron has the business news. big bank bonus is causing problems. >> absolutely. $390 million, that is what the royal bank of scotland is expected to pay its investment bankers. is raising eyebrows? it sure is. why? because the bank was involved in -- in rigging a key interest rate and only 2% owned by the u.k. tax payer. >> it is 7:00 a.m. in washington, 2:00 p.m. in egypt and midday in mali where french and malian forces in the historic city of timbuktu that they captured yesterday from rebels. fighters have retreated in desert hide out but they still control large parts of northern

mali. the french president francois hollande said it is not up to african forces to regain molly's territorial integrity. m ali's integrity. >> of the ancient city erupted in celebration. locals came out to greet the french and malian troops. the soldiers swept into timbuktu unopposed after the islamist rebels abandoned their stronghold. for nearly a year, these people have been under a strict sharia code with flogging of criminals and a ban on music. one of the islamist legacies is reportedly the destruction of a whole library of medieval manuscripts. it chronicled in great detail the history and culture of north africa and included mythical texts which the militants could have found offensive. islamist seized the northern area of mali last year, the part colored orange, but they have

been losing ground. now french and malian troops have been pushing north. on saturday base seized the most populous city in northern mali. on monday, a force of french and mali troops entered timbuktu. once timbuktu is secured, troops are expected to focus on the last rebel stronghold. there are reports to or read the fighters are already in control of that city -- touraeg. a said they will welcome french to -- french troops but opposed to the malian army because of past abuses. international donors and african leaders have pledged hundreds of millions of dollars for military operations against the militants. the imf and the eu already pledged money to support the beleaguered economy. i jubilation and towns across northern mali. people here know how fragile of their security is. the militants may have vanished

for now and the desert, but any sign of weakness and they could return. few relished the prospect of a long guerrilla war. >> let's get the latest live from timbuktu. tom went into timbuktu with the troops and he joins us live. the islamist rebels out of sight but not out of mind? >> exactly. they are believed to be hiding in surrounding desert. but i can tell you the tension is rising here in timbuktu. there are scenes of looting downtown, with dozens of people out in the streets going one shop after the other, targeting shops that were held by ethnic touraregs. accusing them of collaborating with ms -- islamists and they

say they are hiding arms, cash, and weapons. the malian army deployed in town, and is trying to contain the crowd, although it is not clear because there also kind of smiling and waving at the crowd. they have pulled out of boxes of weapons and rifles from some of the shops. >> very indicative of the danger the people of timbuktu. what do you think they had to endure during the months of islamist rule? >> the people here clearly talking about revenge. they are saying, we want revenge. they have been living nearly a year under very strict islamist rule. they have to comply to very strict practices. if they did not comply, they would be whipped. some peoples -- people will have their hands cut off or other

terrible punishment like this. they are now saying there is no way we are going to take this with week. we need a revenge, and we need to find these people who are hiding weapons. >> tomas, thank you for the update about the looting going on right now in timbuktu. we will bring you developments of course as we get it. this wasn't how the egyptian government wanted to mark the second anniversary of the revolution that toppled the mubarak regime. thousands are continuing to protest against president morsi and defying the emergency measures he in post to end five- days of violence. the main opposition group has rejected president morsi's call for dialogue. in fact, the army chief is warning egypt is being pushed to the brink of collapse. this report. >> the suez canal, looking so tranquil and unaffected.

but the cities on its bonds have become the focus of egypt's turmoil. suez itself has had a state of emergency imposed and troops have been deployed after the deadliest periods of protest since the revolution two years ago. suleman is one of the many grieving for those lost in the violence. his son, ali, was shot in the stomach as he and a group of friends were to join the demonstrations against president morsi. i keep thinking of him laying in a hospital bed, he says. i pulled a sheet from his face, praying he might wake up. and i hugged him and hug him. he urged those thinking of going out to protest again to consider the parents of a leave devastated if they died. even though the president announced the curfew here, we found opposition supporters planning to defy it and demonstrate.

they say the freedoms they fought for during the revolution were not materializing. >> we are not afraid of death any more. in fact, we embrace it. i have seen so much blood with my own eyes. if we cannot change the situation and not live with dignity, that would -- that is better. >> protesters take to the streets just before the car for you -- curfew -- and stayed after it started. there is what they think of a curfew. they were supposed to be off the streets and long time ago but we see them dancing and chanting and even setting off fireworks in front of tanks. they say they will keep coming out onto the streets, whatever the consequences, until president morsi steps down. for the most part, these demonstrations were peaceful. a defiant celebration. the army chose not to intervene

this time. but with no long-term solution in sight, more trouble will almost certainly visit this city. bbc news, suez. but we can speak to him live. -- >> we can speak to him live now. would the situation like now in syria -- suez. >> generally during the day things look weak. the suez canal looking tranquil. we heard some army chief who said the suez canal is one of the foundations of egypt and needs to be protected, but it is cities all along the canal that are the ones that are burning and riots and protests are happening almost every night. we had a similar situation in two other cities during the night. generally peaceful but there have been deaths, particularly in port sayyid over the weekend

and the threat of violence. >> and we have violence partly linked to the guilty verdicts planted to the football riots we had last year. how far do you think the current demonstrations reflect an organized political opposition to mohamed morsi? >> here is the thing, there is a great deal of dissatisfaction that the changes that were promised during the revolution have not come to fruition. but also the opposition, it feels, does not have a clear strategy about to take things forward except to take to the streets. people hitting the streets for all kinds of things. when people disagreed with a judgment or ruling in the football right case, people took to the streets. when they oppose president morsi, they take to the streets as well. it sounds crass to talk like this when people are dying, but it is a really interesting time in egypt in terms of how it develops and how people get the idea of democracy, if you like.

on the one hand, you have an elected president but there is a perception he is only helping his own. and you have an opposition whose only clear strategy appears to be don't engage with the president and let's just going and hitting the streets until he steps down. but how long can egypt carry on doing that? >> thank you very much. one of the cities where there is an evening and overnight curfew. now let's look at the other stories making headlines. the bodies of dozens of young men have been found in the rebel area in syria's largest city, aleppo. the syrian observers -- the men have been shot in the head in what appears to be execution- style killings. most are reported to also have their hands tied behind their backs. the microsoft billionaire bill gates told the bbc the world must seize the chance to eradicate polio completely. mr. gates, whose foundation

funds and anti-poverty campaign, says he hopes it is the second disease to be wiped out completely after smallpox. polio is that the debt -- of the damage in three countries. google published its first detailed map of north korea. the mapping information available to anyone with an internet connection. users can zoom in on a street map of the capital of young gang and also details of some of north korea's notorious labor camps which may hold as many as 200,000 people. 10 endangered pygmy elephants were found dead in their reserve in malaysia. officials suspect there were poisoned. they all suffered internal bleeding and were found near each other over the space of three weeks. found on the island of borneo. sport news -- the people of mali have something to celebrate. the football team are through to the quarterfinals of apple --

africa cup in south africa. after a 1-1 draw out with the democratic republic of congo. aaron has joined us with the business news. you are going to tell us more about the big bang bonuses causing -- causing problems? >> royal bank of scotland in the spotlight. the bank said in the of the one well. the investment branch of the bank is making money. the share price is considerably higher. but many -- very contentious issue, especially for a bank only alive today because during the financial crisis the u.k. taxpayer had to for about $70 billion to bail out. let me explain to everybody. controversy certainly appears to be brewing over the bonuses at the royal bank of scotland, that it plans to pay investment bankers. the bank is state control -- 82% owned by british taxpayer after

the near collapse starring the credit crunch. let's look at some of the details because "the financial times" says are b.s. plans to pay as much as $390 million in bonuses to step -- rbs plans to pay as muchbonuses all at a timt appears to be close to agreeing to pay $785 million in fines or bank settlements to u.s. and british regulators over the libor rigging scandal, that involved several banks around the world basically working together to manipulate a key international lending rate. executive will be paying -- will not be paying himself a bonus. an economist and leadership expert says only those people directly responsible for that banking scandal, fixing the rate, should be punished. >> there is, as i say, a moral

and legal issue about whether you can say to somebody who has done nothing wrong -- i am sorry, you are going to suffer because of somebody's misdeed. and there is also the wider issue that applies not just to banks but footballers and ceo's, which is do we in the u.k. accept these pay levels? in the u.s. and in asia it is quite clear -- if you deliver the goods for your company, you get the pay and nobody complains. in europe and do you kay, we inject a moral element that relates to the spread of income in society -- in europe and the uk. >> another day and another bailout and another banking scandal. this time in italy tariff talking about the world's oldest bank -- asking for $5.2 billion of taxpayer cash. the lender lost hundreds of millions of dollars in a big takeover deal, and certainly some risky market trades. now the people who were supposed to be supervising italy's banks

are in the firing line. today, italy's economy minister appears before the parliamentary finance committee to pretty much answer the questions about the turmoil behind the spring. alan johnston in rome has more on what the bank bill at this time. >> the bank of italy itself has said managers had details of the risky trades. but you can expect the mta's on the parliamentary committee to have a lot of questions about who knew what, when, what was done and why weren't certain other things done to prevent the scale of the problems you see before us now. >> that is it. i don't know when the day comes when we will not have to talk about a banking scandal. >> absolutely. don't know when that will come. >> don't know, either. >> more coming up on "gmt," including history repeats itself and the netherlands.

the moment when queen beatrix from the netherlands took over from her mother in 1980. we will look of the dutch tradition of will succession -- royal succession. the nightclub fire in brazil is one of the worst worldwide. authorities now have arrested four people in connection to the fire in which more than230 people died. many others are gravely ill in the hospital, suffering from the after effects of smoke inhalation. the club's owners have been detained and safety rules are being reexamined in a country prepared to host the olympics -- preparing to host the olympics in two years' time. >> another day of unfathomable grief. families and friends of those who died in sunday's tragic night club fire gathered together to mourn. the fumarole here for a 36-year- old woman. a cashier who worked at the club, and the mother of two. her life cut short by a

preventable disaster. more than 60 victims of the fire were buried in this cemetery -- cemetery alone on monday. these people dressed in white our volunteers -- doctors, nurses, psychologists, who came to offer support and help families cope with the tragedy. an investigation is underway to find out how the tragedy in this kiss nightclub happened and why so many people died while trying to escape. >> i was dancing with my friend when the music stopped -- my friend grabbed me and pushed me and started shouting to run, and that is when the confusion started, people running and stepping on each other. >> the question of who is to blame for the damage has become more insistent, as is the call for improvements to brazil's safety regulations. meanwhile, the nightclub has become a grim pilgrimage site. residents visited throughout the day, wanting to see the damage with their own eyes, trying to

grasp that this really happened. bbc news, santa maria, brazil. >> for more on the blaze online we piece together the tragic sequence of events. i'm zeinab badawi and these are the top stories this hour. french and malian troops are consolidating their position in historic timbuktu after seizing it from islamist extremist. the head of the egyptian army has warned that the country's political crisis could lead to the collapse of the state. people in the netherlands are digesting the news that there queen beatrix is to abdicate after 33 years on the throne. the oldest of her three sons will succeed her at the end of april. the world is already showing an incredible interest in his

argentine-born wife, the future queen. the report from the hague. >> meetmazima -- meet maxima, rivaling kate, with some in the u.s. comparing her to britney spears and other celebrating her eclectic skype -- eclectic style. but the future queen has a controversial past. her father was a member of the argentinian cabinet during the country's war -- although he has never been charged. tahe royal wedding in 2002 -- he was not on the guest list. back in argentina today, maxima is making headlines. >> one of our representatives at the world in this level of the hierarchy -- i love it. >> truthfully, i don't feel it is very relevant here. it does not influence anything. absolutely nothing.

if it helps far relations, that of good. but i feel is totally irrelevant. >> maxima is one of the few royals to openly support gay rights -- and she is fluent in dutch, english, and spanish. she met wilhelm alexander at a spanish festival. apparently she had no idea he was a prince. the couple have three girls. eldest will become the heir apparent. in her abdication speech, queen beatrix said wilhelm alexander was ready to become queen. the surprise announcement came just a few days before her 75th birthday. already is generating talk of a royal domino affect with other europeans asking how long before their monarchs it way to future generations. the official dutch abdication will take place on april 30 or

queen's day. from then on, kings they will be held on wilhelm alexander's birthday a few days before, a celebration of the first king to rule the kingdom of the netherlands in more than a century. bbc news, the hague. >> let's talk some more about this. kate williams is a royal historian angeles be in the studio. nice to see you. this is the best way of doing things. >> there is a precedent. her mother advocated before her, her grandmother also advocated and prince wilhelm, much younger, 45. we have quite a silver market. we of queen elizabeth ii, 86, the king of norway, 75, the king of spain, 75, queen of denmark, 73 and the tricks herself is coming up to 75. >> on thursday. >> her birthday. >> generally when you look of

the world -- thailand and countries all over, monarchs tend to die on the front before the handover. >> all over the world. as we are an aging population we are also an aging market. it reflects the pattern of the population. much of the monarch's across all the throws. >> do you often heard being an heir of the front is not do it is a predicament. >> the weights are getting longer. -- waits a getting longer. >> we are glad people are living longer. does the dutch royal family need a shop in the arm? prince wilhelm alexander, 45, relatively glamorous, young wife. >> he will be the first man on the dutch throne since '89. he has three daughters, so you will be essentially a brief male interlude. it is going to be a change because the dutch are used to a

female monarchy. but things have been changing in holland because in 2010 the queen of holland had much more power than the average european monarch. she had a lot of political power to call forward the coalition -- >> diluted a bit recently. but there was a succession -- impressions you what a little too far so in 2012 she lost the powers and she has more a ceremonial role. quite a different role she is handed over to her son. >> she is interesting. not many monarchs have a law degree. >> she has a law degree. much more humble. they love her. the big celebration of queen's day will be a double celebration -- april 30, already a big celebration -- 200 years and now wilhelm. >> let's give an idea of what people have been saying, their thoughts on facebook. one has written.

good for her, not clinging so desperately. william from north carolina -- it seems like a lot of civilized and traditional passing of the crown. and -- nobody wants a geriatric monarch. look at how were recovered when was when our queen did the boat procession in the pouring rain in the jubilee. sure not i thought many share here because the queen this fall of with a great deal of affection and people admire the fact she have gone on and show street stamina and staying power. >> that is right. people love the fact she is still here. she sees it as a duty. two things -- i think she is hoping to be queen victoria and the bryn's longest reigning monarch, in 2015. and she feels she will go on until the end and if she advocates, for her it is a dereliction of duty because it is just like what her uncle did to marry mrs. simpson.

that, to her, was a weakness. she will try to go to the end if she is found the body and mind. >> thank you very much for joining us. a quick reminder of our top story -- french and malian soldiers now hold control of the desert city of timbuktu. >> make sense of international news at bbc.com/news. >> funding for this presentation is made possible by the freeman foundation of new york, stowe, vermont, and honolulu. newman's own foundation. and union bank. >> at union bank, our relationship managers work hard to understand the industry you

operate in, working to nurture new ventures and help provide capital for key strategic decisions. we offer expertise and tailored